Former Manchester United captain Gary Neville has insisted that Chelsea will not win the Premier League this season despite sitting just four points behind Liverpool.
At the start of the season, Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City were expected to be the only teams competing for the title. However, Arne Slot's side were seen as outsiders after a quiet summer transfer window and a new head coach in place.
In reality, Liverpool have been the only team able to find consistency at the top end of the table. That was until Chelsea settled under new head coach Enzo Maresca.
The Blues have not lost since visiting Anfield and while Arsenal and City both dropped points on a weekend when Liverpool did not play due to adverse weather, Chelsea came from behind to beat rivals Tottenham Hotspur and move second in the table. Such a leap has led some to speculate that the Blues are now Premier League title contenders.
But when it was put to him on the latest episode of It's Called Soccer, Neville insisted that Chelsea will not be winning the title this season. "They’re not gonna win it, but they’re definitely in it because the fact of the matter is with these games they’ve got coming up, if they win them as you say, I think there’s only one team they’re playing in the top ten in the next six, seven, eight games," he explained.
"There’s no excuse for them to not get closer to Liverpool in that period with the way in which they’re playing, the way in which he’s rotating the squad. You’re right, they will be within a shout of the league if they get closer into January, but I still think they’ll fall short."
Next up for Chelsea is a mammoth trip to Astana in the Conference League tomorrow afternoon before returning to England to face Brentford at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
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Chelsea flag prior the UEFA Champions League Quarter Final Leg One match between Chelsea FC and Real Madrid at Stamford Bridge. (Photo by Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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